I invented the mashed potato sandwich, or at least my version of the mashed potato sandwich, after suffering a debilitating attack of jaundice. After my grandmother’s death, my mother went into a period of depression and stopped cooking. To my unbridled joy this meant restaurant food almost every […]

Bacon and eggs. Mornings are always better with bacon and eggs. And sausages. Well, mine at least. I make do with fruit and toast, but when I need a good morning then it’s got to be bacon and fried eggs. The last fortnight I’ve had some very good […]

It’s been a good year in food. I’ve eaten at more than 150 restaurants, sailed on a cruise ship and spent time in Ireland, one of the countries on my bucket list. I got to meet three living legends; I was on a panel with Mark Kurlansky, the […]

Let’s start by setting the record straight. Every website, except Google, and Delhi-based publication has incorrectly listed the restaurant as Di Miso. The name of the restaurant is Miso which means smile in Korean. It has nothing to do with the popular Japanese soy-paste. Miso does not even […]

Three new pan-Asian restaurants opened in Colaba in the last two months About four years ago I wrote about how Colaba, and the areas around Kala Ghoda, were once again becoming a dining destination. Since then, the number of restaurants opening has been increasing at a steady pace. Till […]

Since the only reason I travel is to try out new cuisines, I never go to Indian restaurants when I’m abroad. On a recent trip to Singapore I broke the rule; despite the Singapore Tourism Board putting together a very engaging itinerary. I opted out of breakfast at […]

Every once in a while we go through a phase when we crave a certain food. Only that particular combination of ingredients, of textures and flavours can satisfy our hunger and when we get so caught up with that peculiar craving we stop thinking about other foods. When […]

I’ve said this before and I’m saying it again: Hermit Dacosta is a rock star. He knows the prices of all the fish in the market, the best time to buy bangda, who has the best prawns, which fish are better at Crawford Market versus Sassoon Dock. He knows who […]

It’s a lazy afternoon and I’m in the mood for some seafood. For a change, the partner-in-dine is also home on a Saturday and, more importantly, she’s awake at lunch time. The question, as always, is where? We’ve pretty much exhausted all the Konkani restaurants around Fort; Konkan […]

‘Try the Kelvinator, you’ll really like it,’ the bartender urges, as an alternative to the Negroni I’m eyeing. ‘It’s named after the chef.’ I’m a tad unsure, but I defer to his advice. For my companion, he suggests the Aperol Spritz. The fizzy, slightly bitter Spritz is too […]

A tub of gochujang, the Korean sweet-spicy fermented chilli paste, has been sitting in my fridge for years, silently mocking me every time I peered in. I had bullied a friend into buying a box, believing that I’d use it regularly. But I didn’t. And it sat there. Waiting. […]

I’m not a big fan of chocolate. When my mother turned diabetic, I’d hide tins of Mackintosh’s Quality Street from her, then forget about them, only to find them years later. Even now, you’ll find chocolate cookies, chocolate bars and an assortment of chocolate candies hidden away in various shelves of the refrigerator, […]

At a time when Irani cafes are disappearing from Mumbai, ​it’s heartening to have a new one open. Café Irani Chaii – the two i’s stand for India and Iran – doesn’t have a fancy décor, isn’t trying to recreate a lost era or reinvent the genre. It’s […]

Chefs, home cooks are creating meals you won’t find on restaurant menus For the first course, we’re served a salad. Half a grilled peach, its skin lightly stained, and a pickled beetroot dressing sits on a bed of puffed bajra. It is surrounded by pieces of pickled and […]

I didn’t want to go. I really didn’t want to go. But the partner-in-dine was adamant. ‘We’re going to the Urs,’ she said firmly and decisively. And I’m really glad I went. The 10-day annual Urs (festival) held at Mahim in honour of the saint Makhdoom Ali Mahimi […]

In this Australian city, coffee is a religion, one that can be bitter and intense, or light and frothy, depending on personal taste On my first morning in Melbourne I get a sense of why the city is the coffee capital of Australia. We’ve headed over to the Artisan […]

I first tasted Amarula a few years ago. While I did enjoy it tremendously, my loyalty lay with another crème liqueur: Bailey’s Irish Cream. Bailey’s was a ‘soft’ liqueur; after a party when the liqueurs were being served this was the one that was offered to those […]

I often make up recipes on the spot. As often I forget what I made and more importantly, especially when it comes out successfully, what I put into it. Fortunately, the partner-in-dine remembers, mostly, everything that I’ve cooked (and sometimes things I may or may not have said). And this Sunday afternoon, […]

It’s been almost a year since I’ve been to India Jones. The last time we went the food was quite a let-down and we weren’t inclined to return. However the partner-in-dine was in the mood for dim sum and we decide to give India Jones a second chance […]

A few weekends ago I did something that I hadn’t done in a long time – 17 years exactly. I went to SV Road on Goregaon West. Now, I do occasionally go to this distant Mumbai suburb, but usually to places touching the highway – to the Westin […]

The long, glass-topped display in the centre of the room makes you instinctively stop and stare. Like sirens on a rock, each one calls out to you; will it be the red velvet cheesecake or the dainty lemon tarts? You could push past the temptation via the staircase at the back […]